Smith Street Taps 10th Anniversary commemorative glass.

Meng and Kim Chow, owners of Smith Street Taps in Singapore, join Brew Ha Ha with Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras today. It is their first time on Brew Ha Ha. Lana Svitankova is also in the studio today. Her full conversation with Herlinda can be heard over here on its own podcast episode.

Meng and Kim have brought a Smith Street Taps glass like the one pictured here, as a gift for Steve. They have just celebrated their tenth anniversary. They also have another stall now, called by a similar name, Smith Street Taproom.

Herlinda met Meng and Kim in Singapore when she was judging in the Asia Beer Cup. The city is obviously very clean and well organized, and Herlinda remembers feeling safe in the city, even when she got lost at night.

Smith Street Taps is located among the hawker stalls in Singapore. These are large food courts with many restaurants serving a wide variety of styles of food. It is Singapore’s way of organizing what would otherwise be street food.

Kim explains that Smith Street Taps is the first and only hawker stall dedicated to craft beer, among the Singapore hawker stalls. They have craft beer on tap from all over the world.

Hawker culture in Singapore is heritage, so it is protected, promoted and highly appreciated.” -Kim Chow

Rumble in the Jungle (photo by Lana Svitankova).

Meng has opened a beer called Rumble in the Jungle, a Stout which he produced in a collaboration with Brewlander, a local brewery, and Jungle Beer, formerly of Singapore and now based in India. It is a stout flavored with chickory from India, with an 8% ABV. “Works for me!” says Steve Jaxon.

Herlinda remembers a 16 hour flight from California to Singapore, which Meng and Kim also just did. Thinking out loud, next time, she might fly 9 hours to Japan first, then fly the next leg from Japan to Singapore, another 9 hours.

The Singapore Sling is actually a local drink. It is a gin-based cocktail believed to have been created by a bartender at Raffles Hotel in Singapore. They still serve them there so go get one if you’re visiting Singapre, it can’t be missed. Spoiler Alert! –> In a shaker with ice, gin, cherry liqueur, Cointreau, Benedictine, pineapple juice, lime juice, Grenadine syrup and a dash of Angostura bitters. Serve strained into a hurricane glass.

Meng had the first craft beer bottle shop in Singapore, before Smith Street Taps. He is on his way to Boston for his son’s graduation from Northeastern University. Meng’s great wish is to find out how he can I get to drive a hop picking machine like the one at the museum.